How to extract information from the game for analysis?

Question

data mining

A computer game has a huge number of different parameters, indicators and other numerical information that could be useful for analysis. My question is, how can the necessary information from the game be extracted for further analysis?

Answer 1

There are no universal methods suitable for all cases. This question can only be asked in relation to a specific game. In general, reverse engineering is indispensable here (unless the game is open source).
Among the most general approaches to this problem, the following can be mentioned (from simple to complex):

1. Parsing the format of the save file and extracting the necessary data from it. Often this is the only possible way, despite the apparent inconvenience of such an approach.
   
2. Calculation of static addresses in the address space of the process, at which there are variables that store some important game parameters. To do this, there have long been such automated tools as ArtMoney. But against modern games, all this is practically useless, since all data structures are stored in dynamic memory.
   
3. Run the game under the debugger, identify functions (entry points to them) that are called on certain game events, analyze the parameters of these functions, look for variables among them that are responsible for some significant game parameters. Then write a patch for the game, in which to intercept these functions and save the passed parameters somewhere, from where they can be easily obtained from outside.
   

Answer 2

It highly depends on the game. Maybe it has an API, maybe it doesn't, but you can embed it in the code. Maybe the game writes logs all the time. You can also monitor memory in the style of ArtMoney and CheatEngine. And in some games, everything is hidden so that it remains only to recognize the data from the screen. So there are many options, you need to look at the situation.